Copy purchased through Fahrenheit Press Book Club

5 out of 5 Stars

Description:

Charles Stone has just woken up dead. Well he’s pretty sure he’s dead, what with the bullet holes in his chest and all. He also appears to be totally alone in the after-life except for the equally dead dog who seems to be his new companion. Unable to interact with the world of the living other than watching and listening, he and the dead dog (whom he names Rose) have nothing to do and all the time in the world to do it. When Charles and Rose try to unravel the circumstances of Charles’s death, they uncover a criminal who is raking in millions of dollars by cruelly exploiting, and sometimes killing, his victims. But what difference can a ghost make?

My Thoughts & Review:

Charles Stone is dead, he’s sure of this because he attended his own funeral. How did he die? Why did he die? He’s not entirely sure, but he wants to find out and along with his (deceased) canine companion he sets about unravelling the mystery. The canine in question is a paradox to Stone, he has no idea where she came from, but she seems friendly enough. He calls her Rose and together they exist in a constant state of non-existence – I’ll leave you to ponder that one for a moment!The short chapters and narration from Stone make this an easy and quick read. Stone’s moments of indulgence in self deprecation are darkly humorous to read, his detailed descriptions of his “shit brother” and the other ‘so-called’ mourners are fantastic, you get feel for just how much he despises these people, and I do keep saying it, but if an author can create characters that are utterly despicable and awful humans then this is a sign of a good writer.

Frustrations that Stone demonstrates at not being able to communicate with the living are palpable, the desperation to stop the loathsome killer had me sharing Stone’s exasperations.

Quotes from various sources relating to death and morality at the start of each chapter provide a short break from Stone’s narration, but also give the reader a moment to ponder the “the greater beyond”. Something that stands out about this book is that it does make you pause and consider your feelings towards death, and any possibility of an afterlife.

A snippet from the follow up book Dead is Best is tantalisingly dangled at the end of this book, and it looks just as brilliant as Dead is Better! I’d have no hesitation to recommend this book to anyone that enjoys Crime Fiction or Thriller genres but would hasten to add there is some pretty good dark humour in here (and the odd swear word, just in case you’re easily offended….on that note, maybe avoid books published by Fahrenheit Press in that case).